Doctor Thorne: more thrilling than Downton Abbey?
Familiar themes feature in Julian Fellowes's adaptation of the Anthony Trollope classic
![Doctor Thorne](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eDJjwf53iDNsCpVtRh9f9D-415-80.jpg)
Julian Fellowes insists that his new period drama about love and class divide, Doctor Thorne, is not the new Downton Abbey, but this hasn't stopped critics drawing comparisons.
His adaptation of Anthony Trollope's 1858 novel, which stars Tom Hollander as the eponymous hero, Stefanie Martini as his niece, Mary, and Ian McShane as the sinister Sir Roger Scatcherd, began last night on ITV.
It shares many of the things that made Downton such a huge hit, says Kasia Delgado at the Radio Times. It is full of "the most beautiful country houses, castles and corsets, with some brilliant characters and actors at its centre".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, unlike Fellowes's hit series, which once graced the same television spot, Doctor Thorne is a self-contained three-part drama rather than a sprawling six seasons.
"And let's thank the TV gods for that," says Delgado, "because Doctor Thorne's limited scope means it's sharper, more succinct and therefore more thrilling than Downton was, particularly in its later series."
There is also a "darkness at its core", she adds, with the central romance overshadowed by a murderous secret known only by Thorne.
Fellowes has certainly given Trollope the Downton treatment, says Jasper Rees at the Daily Telegraph. "Caught at a loose end after half the cast wanted out of Downton Abbey, he seems to have stuck his fingers in his ears, crossed out the name of Crawley and given their lines about pedigree and inheritances to the De Courceys and the Greshams."
Other critics agree that Doctor Thorne shares many of the hit series' themes – but also some of its foibles.
They were all here, says Viv Groskop at The Guardian, the "scheming aunts, rich heiresses, downtrodden husbands and country estates peeling around the edges", along with an "awful lot of explanatory detail and very little action or depth of emotion".
Meanwhile, Andrew Billen at The Times points out that it is hard to imagine Downton without Upstairs, Downstairs, or Upstairs, Downstairs without the novels of Trollope.
The snobbery, secrets and greed of Doctor Thorne were "familiar clay" in the hands of Fellowes, he says, yet there was "something uncomfortable about almost all of it".
While it was no doubt a faithful translation, with its "yawning swards and crenelated towers", it felt "more pastiche than Downton itself", he concludes.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Douglas Is Cancelled: Hugh Bonneville plays a shamed news presenter
The Week Recommends Cancel culture drama is mostly 'clever and sharp'
By The Week UK Published
-
A Quiet Place: Day One – the 'pleasant surprise of the summer'
The Week Recommends Silence is golden in this prequel to the popular 2018 apocalyptic thriller
By The Week UK Published
-
The Bikeriders: Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy star in high-octane drama
The Week Recommends Film inspired by 1968 book about notorious biker gang in Chicago
By The Week UK Published
-
Raffles London at The OWO review: a quintessentially British stay
The Week Recommends This heritage building has been given a twist as a luxury hotel in the nation's capital
By Leaf Arbuthnot, The Week UK Published
-
The Young Woman and the Sea: Daisy Ridley stars as 'tenacious' heroine
The Week Recommends The film explores the story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the Channel
By The Week UK Published
-
Has Bridgerton lost the plot?
Talking Point Return of the hit Regency series has divided both fans and critics
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Michelangelo – the last decades review: an 'absorbing' exploration of art
The Week Recommends New exhibition focuses on works from the final 30 years of the artist's long career
By The Week UK Published
-
Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published